News & Events
News & Events
Michael Bowes QC is due to speak at a Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) event on 11 June 2019 in Whitehall, London. RUSI is the world’s oldest independent think tank on international defence and security, and has a global presence. Michael, who specialises in business crime, civil fraud, financial services and international sanctions has been invited to take part in a panel discussion on the ‘Paper Launch: A Civil approach to tackling Criminal Finances’, led by Helena Wood, Associate Fellow, RUSI and author of the paper. Mick Creedon, Former Chief Constable and National Police Chiefs Council (NPCC) lead on Proceeds of Crime also makes up the panel. The Paper Launch follows on from the Government’s Serious and Organised Crime Strategy…
News 5 Jun, 2019
Oliver Powell and Alexandra Sidossis have joined with Neill Blundell and Max Hobbs of Macfarlanes to examine how the use of Account Freezing Orders (AFOs) is developing and, in particular, to examine how the first few applications for AFOs have been received by the English courts. Click here to read the latest article ‘Everybody, freeze! Account freezing orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act’. Background Oliver Powell, together with Michael Bowes QC, was consulted on the Criminal Finances Bill, by Transparency International during the Bill’s passage through the two Houses. Their analysis and commentary on the Bill was used by MPs in preparing for debates in the House of Commons. Oliver’s experience in this area means that he can speak…
News 25 Apr, 2019
We are delighted to announce the successful recruitment of four new barristers to our ranks. As of Monday, 8th April 2019 we extend a warm welcome to: Louis Weston Louis Weston, top-ranked sports law specialist and regulatory law barrister joins us from 3 Paper Buildings as a full Member of Chambers. Louis was the recipient of the 2017 International Advisory Experts Award: Sports Law Lawyer of the Year in England and has a thriving Sports Law practice. He prosecutes before the British Horseracing Authority, the Greyhound Board of Great Britain, the Turf Club, the World Professional Snooker and Billiards Association and before other arbitral bodies. He acts before both courts and regulators in disputes arising from sports contracts and doping…
News 5 Apr, 2019
Michael Bowes QC and Oliver Powell, instructed by Dechert LLP, appeared at Southwark Crown Court in Phase 3 of the SFO’s investigation into the French transport company Alstom. Michael Bowes QC (trial at first instance and retrial) and Oliver Powell (trial at first instance) appeared on behalf of Terence Watson, Alstom Network UK’s former Senior Vice President for Europe and Central Asia. It was the SFO’s case that: Terence Watson; Michael Anderson, a former Business Development Manager at Alstom Transport in Paris; and Jean-Daniel Lainé, Alstom Network UK’s former Senior Vice President for Ethics and Compliance, conspired with Alstom Network UK to make corrupt payments to public officials in Hungary in order to secure contracts for the Budapest Metro System.…
News 21 Dec, 2018
Oliver Powell and Jeremy Scott-Joynt were invited by the AMLP Forum, the financial crime and corruption association, to speak at its Annual Anti-Bribery and Corruption Forum in London. Oliver chaired a panel on ‘Investigations – evolving best practice and lessons learnt from latest anti-corruption enforcement cases on both sides of the Atlantic’. Fellow panel members included Gaon Hart, Global Anti-Bribery & Corruption Policy, HSBC Group, and Cheryl Scarboro, Partner, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. Jeremy spoke on a panel concerning ‘Joint ventures & acquisitions – managing corruption risks in the context of fragility’. Fellow speakers included Jason Hungerford, Partner, Mayer Brown International & Co-Chair of the Tainted Assets Working Group, and Ed Wheatley, Sector Head of Ethics & Compliance, Johnson…
News 22 Nov, 2018
Following an article by Michael Bowes QC and Oliver Powell earlier this year, Oliver and Alexandra Sidossis have joined with Neill Blundell and Max Hobbs of Macfarlanes to examine how the use of Unexplained Wealth Orders has developed during 2018 and, in particular, comment on what can be learned from a recent challenge to the first UWO in the English courts. Click here to read the latest article “McMafia orders revisited”. Click here to read the original article “McMafia orders”. Background Michael Bowes QC and Oliver Powell were consulted on the Criminal Finances Bill, and in particular on UWOs, by Transparency International during the Bill’s passage through the two Houses. Their analysis and commentary on the Bill was used by…
News 15 Nov, 2018
Michael Bowes QC and Oliver Powell were invited by Edmonds Marshall McMahon to give a work shop on Unexplained Wealth Orders (‘UWOs’) and Interim Freezing Orders (‘IFOs’). The work shop was designed to be innovative, with participants being encouraged to think creatively about what role a private prosecutor could play in applications for UWOs and IFOs. More generally, the debate expanded as whether there was traction for the Public and Private Sectors to work more collaboratively in the area of economic crime. Background Michael Bowes QC and Oliver Powell were consulted on the Criminal Finances Bill, and in particular on UWOs, by Transparency International during the Bill’s passage through the two Houses. Their analysis and commentary on the Bill was…
News 19 Jul, 2018
Tim Green appeared on behalf of The Pensions Regulator at Derby Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 7 June in a prosecution arising out of the misuse of the automatic enrolment scheme for workplace pensions by a national employer. Eight defendants, including two company directors and the company itself, all pleaded guilty. The case was committed to the Derby Crown Court for sentence later this summer. For more information about this case click here.
News 11 Jun, 2018
Unexplained Wealth Orders (‘UWOs’) and the supporting Interim Freezing Orders (‘IFOs’) are now in force, and enforcement authorities are not wasting any time utilising the latest tool in their investigative armoury. On 28 February 2018, the National Crime Agency (‘NCA’) announced that it had already been granted two UWOs to investigate properties totalling £22 million – believed to be owned by a Politically Exposed Person (‘PEP’). Additionally, IFOs were also granted by the High Court, meaning that the assets cannot be sold, transferred or dissipated while subject to the order. A UWO requires a person who is reasonably suspected of involvement in, or of being connected to a person involved in, serious crime to explain the nature and extent of…
News 7 Mar, 2018
Last Monday, Al Jazeera interviewed Robert Rhodes QC about the Serious Fraud Office’s charging of Barclays Bank Ltd for unlawful financial assistance relating to transactions with Qatar in October 2008. The holding company, Barclays Bank plc, was also charged last summer, along with four former senior executives (Robert had an article published about that in Times). The charge relates to Barclays’ October 2008 loan of £2.3bn to Qatar Holdings, its payment to Qatar Holdings of £323m for advisory services, and the purchase by Qatar Holdings of c. £12bn Barclays shares. Robert pointed out that, during the banking crisis a decade ago, the British government had to invest over £1tn into UK banks. He said that Barclays managed to avoid going…
News 16 Feb, 2018
Michael Bowes QC is due to speak at an upcoming conference discussing the effects of Brexit on the fight against economic crimes. The fully-booked event, run by the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, takes place on Wednesday, 31st January 2018, in London, UK. The organisers announce that the conference seeks to address a number of topical issues, “including the kind of challenges Brexit poses for the UK in terms of tackling economic crimes domestically and internationally; the kind of tools that the UK will have at its disposal after Brexit; how the UK’s legal framework will be impacted by Brexit; the EU’s stance on judicial cooperation in criminal matters with the UK after Brexit; whether Brexit will require…
Events 26 Jan, 2018
We are delighted to have been shortlisted in Legal Week’s British Legal Awards 2017 – Chambers of the Year category. The British Legal Awards hosted by Legal Week in association with The City of London Law Society, takes place at the end of the LegalWeek Connect, and is due to be attended by 1,000 lawyers. All 29 categories have been carefully chosen to reflect the ever-complex and challenging work of business lawyers at law firms, within legal departments and at the Bar. Key awards this year include The City of London Law Society Lifetime Achievement Award, Chambers of the Year, Law Firm of the Year, General Counsel of the Year, Editor’s Award: Law Firm Leader of the Year and the Legal…
News 20 Oct, 2017
